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Before taking a dig or two at USF during his booster-tour stop Tuesday at Whiskey Joe's on Rocky Point, UCF second-year coach Scott Frost obliged us with a quick interview. Here are some excerpts:

In general, how did your spring go?"It went well. This whole thing's going to be a process. I think we're a lot better team coming out of spring than we were last year. I think we'll be better at almost every position on the football field next year, and a lot of that's just from experience. Our guys, instead of having to learn the names of plays and where to go, we spent more time teaching the details and the technique."

You had some close losses last year (three by a touchdown or less). Do you feel you're a team on the cusp?"I think we could be, but I also think the league's gonna be winnable but really competitive this year. Look at our schedule, I don't think there's very many games where we're going into the game thinking we're definitely gonna win this, but I don't think there's any games on the schedule where we're gonna go in thinking we probably can't win this. I think we're gonna be very competitive. I think the league's gonna be wide open and I think every game's gonna be a battle."

What's the greatest progression your QB (sophomore McKenzie Milton) has made in the last year?"I think mechanics. His footwork got a lot better. When he was able to set his feet and step into throws and drive it downfield, he's really good. And he's got a creativity about him when he has the ball in his hands. We had to kind of limit that a little last year, so he didn't take too many chances. But the more times he can set his feet and step into throws, the better off he is."

In this era of widespread transferring, how much do you admire a guy like (East Lake High alumnus) Pete DiNovo (two appearances at quarterback in four seasons)?"I admire those guys a lot. We have a culture anymore where, if it isn't right for me right now, I need to quit and do something else. It's not just college football, I think it's a lot of things. And that's probably hypocritical for me to say because I transferred when I was in collge, but I also was a highly ranked recruit that didn't play a lot until my fourth year of college. I think a lot of times guys are so impatient that they think it has to happen now, and they choose a different course. But there's a lot of examples out there of guys that didn't play until late in their career that still had unbelievable careers and got drafted and played on Sundays."

What can you tell us about (Armwood alumnus and veteran OL) Aaron Evans?"Aaron's one of our best players. Had a really good spring. I expect him to have a dominant year."

How well do you know Charlie Strong?"We just had conference coaches' meetings. I had talked to Charlie a couple of times before that, but didn't know him well. Got to know him a little better a couple of weeks ago."

Now that you've played against him and watched him extensively on tape, what are your thoughts on Quinton Flowers?"I think he's a special player. Really good with the ball in his hands. He's as good as almost any running back in our league, and he's playing quarterback. I will give USF credit, I think they used him exactly the right way last year. They had him in sets where there wasn't anybody else in the backfield and used him as a running back, and he beat a lot of people doing that. It will be interesting to see how he fits into a new scheme, but he was definitely one of the best players in our league last year."

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South Florida Bulls fans, you've come to the right place: the USF Sports Bulletin blog. Tampa Bay Times sportswriter Joey Knight, who covers USF, will post news and thoughts on the Bulletin, and we invite your participation in the comments area. Follow the Times' coverage of USF athletics on Twitter.